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So after a long hard day of chainsawing and moving logs in the bush we were all just about to head home for the day, some of us already had, when the chorus of pagers went off. Mt. Forbes 41 were on scene at a grass fire along the Cunningham Highway at Willowbank and requesting additional resources. All available crews and appliances turned out – Chucka, Bull & Myself brought up the rear with 52.

Upon arrival we discovered a couple of hectares well alight and a few appliances already on scene including urban pumper from Karana Downs, 644A, in action – property protection. We quickly joined the mix and within a short period of time the fire was knocked down.

The cause of the fire then became apparent. A wheel had come off a towed trailer, the chassis being dragged along the highway for some distance. The resulting sparks ignited a fire on the side of the roadway which quickly swept up the hillside.

After a thorough inspection of the blackened out edge, we filled up what little water we used and called it a day.

Just a few pics and some video of the guys from Ripley Valley and Pine Mountain doing our Level II chainsaw certificates.. Nice job!

( And, no – that tree isn’t hung up, its falling – just the fast shutter speed doesn’t show it. )

With it shaping up to be a busy fire season by 9am in the morning the Brigade was again called to a fire, this time at Swanbank, in bushland opposite the power station. Crewing first vehicle on the scene we knocked down as much of the fire as we could get access to as other appliances began arriving.

With extreme difficulty in getting vehicles to the fire it was mostly down to slugging it out on foot with blowers, rakehoes and knapsack sprayers.

Unfortunately the fire managed to get out of the black and jump the train tracks entering an area of lantana brush where hand tools were simply inadequate and it quickly took off.

Mt Forbes were also responded and by this stage we had managed to get a light attack down the train tracks to knock that part of the fire down.

With both brigades on scene we were able to contain the rest of the fire and get back to station for a well deserved lunch!

On Sunday afternoon a reasonably small fire, a couple of hectares, started up in difficult terrain along Redbank Plains Rd at Redbank Plains. Ripley Valley RFB was called to assist the urban crew from Bundamba, 643A.

After a brief size up with consideration to the conditions the initial plan was to contain the fire into a larger area using backburning however after winds settled a bit a more direct attack was chosen and after a couple of hours of cleaning up the edge and monitoring all units headed home.

Commencing on the evening of Friday 21 August 2009 Ripley Valley began quite a large hazard reduction burn in bushland at Springfield bordering on Orion, Polaris and the University.

With approx 600 hectares to burn the planning had been going for weeks and approximately 18km’s of fire breaks prepared using a dozer. A lot of work had been put in by senior members of the brigade in assessing the burn and getting everything ready.

I must say I think our guys did an extremely professional job.

And back for some more punishment

The state firefighter championships was recently held at Limestone Park in Ipswich. The events take place over three days and include a large safety expo in addition to the the firefighter championships. The winner runner up and third place getter will now compete in the Australasian competitions to be held in October at Rotorua, New Zealand.

1st    Monto
2nd    Caboolture
3rd    Kilcoy
 
Champion Firefighter    Steve Avis
 

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Safety Expo   Competition Day 1   Competition Day 2

This afternoon Ripley Valley crews responded to Kerners Rd Yamanto signalling the start of the fire season. A full brigade response was required and although there was heavy fuel loads with the fire going well the recent rains made it surprisingly boggy in some areas. Unfortunately I managed to sprain my ankle not long after arriving and only have a few pics.

Over the weekend of 20th and 21st June the 2009 South East Region Firefighter championships were held at Limestone Park in Ipswich with the winning teams competing against other regions in the State championships to be held in a few weeks.

 
1st    Mt Tamborine
2nd    Marburg
3rd    Laidley
 
Champion Firefighter    Danny Edser
 

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Day 1   Day 2

Just prior to 5pm today crews were called to multiple reports of a house on fire in Gilingham St Woolloongabba. The Queenslander was well involved upon arrival and crews went into immediate action protecting exposures. A 2nd alarm was called with multiple appliances, control vehicle and senior officers responding. The fire was eventually brought under control and investigations continue as to the cause of the blaze.

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